The Singer and The Stripper
by La-Vie-Boheme94
Summary: Maureen is an aspiring singer/actress who's stuck as a teacher. Joanne is the disowned lesbian stripper with a drug addiction. One night, these two lost souls meet. Will they fall in love or destroy each other? Read&Review please. Thank you.
1. High School is Hard for Adults Too

Title: The Singer and The Stripper

Summery: Maureen always wanted to be a famous singer/actress, but, her parents told her that was unrealistic. So, she got a job as a drama teacher at an elite private school and coaches the school's show choir. Joanne was disowned as her teenager by her parents after revealing she was a lesbian, so, she turned to stripping to support herself, which led her to developing a drug addiction. One faithful night, these two lost souls meet. Will they fall in love or destroy each other?

Author's Note: I wanted to switch Maureen and Joanne's roles for once so Maureen was the responsible and monogamous one and Joanne was unstable and promiscuous. Also I LOVE the character Idina Menzel plays on Glee. I can totally see her actually coaching a show choir for real. So please read and review. Enjoy xD

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent or Idina Menzel's character on Glee. *Sigh*

**High School is Hard for Adults Too**

Maureen Johnson sat in the teacher's lounge of Milton Preparatory School, drinking a cup of cold black coffee and eating a few plain crackers. It was six-forty in the morning and she was sure that, besides the security guards she saw on her way in here, she was only teacher there. She wasn't suprised. Teachers were suppose to report to the school by seven-fifteen, since class started at seven-forty five, but most of them didn't show up til the last minute. Not her. Maureen took her job as drama teacher very seriously. She wanted to be prepared for the day's lesson and whatever questions her students might ask.

You know how when you ask graduating high school seniors what they want to do with their life and they give practical answers like doctor, lawyer, or teacher? Well, Maureen had said actress/singer. She believed that with hard work and determination, she would one day grace Broadway's majestic stage just like her idol, Julie Andrews, had done before her. She had even saved up some money from her job working as a waitress at a popular restaurant, so, she could take singing and acting lessons. Her parents, Martha and Victor, did not believe in their daughter's dream. They had told Maureen that there was no guarantee that she would ever make it to an off Broadway show, let alone an actual show on Broadway. Martha instructed her daughter to take the money she saved and put it towards college, so, she could have a real career, instead of spending her life starving and homeless just so she could chase an impossible dream. Reluctantly, Maureen obeyed her parents' wishes and went to college, majoring in drama and art. Upon graduating, Victor managed to pull some strings and got Maureen a job at Milton Prep. At first, Mauren did not enjoy working there. The students were stuck up, the staff was rude, and no one took the time out to even find out Maureen's name. But, after a few weeks, the sudents started warming up to her, the staff got friendlier(well, some of them, anyways), and before long everyone knew Maureen. She even made some friends. Mark Cohen, the film teacher, Roger Davis, the music teacher, and her best friend, Tom Collins, the computer teacher. Maureen had even bought the boys to her parents' annual Christmas party last year where Victor had bonded with them, but, Martha had given attitude to Roger and Collins. She had warmed up to Mark immediately, asking him a thousand questions, incuding if he liked Maureen in that way. Maureen was so humiliated, pulling Mark away before her mom could do anymore damage, but, when they had made their way to the dinner table, Mark had admitted that he did like her a lot. He even went as far as to say that he had actually cried the first time he heard Maureen sing at a show choir rehearsal. Maureen was flattered, but, she didn't see Mark as a boyfriend, but, she didn't want to lose him as a friend, so, she agreed to go out with him. Three months later, Mark was falling in love with her and Maureen was trying to survive the relationship as best she could.

Maureen was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of kids running through the halls and lockers slamming. She looked at her watch. Seven-ten. She added some sugar to her coffee, stuffed the last cracker in her mouth, and started towards the black box theatre, which is where she taught her classes. The black box was a room, painted all black, he size of about nine regular size classrooms put together. It took up most of the first floor, which the kids nicknamed "the basement" since you had to walk down a spiral staircase to get to it. The black box had a small stage, a small scale set of bleachers, which they called "Mt. Everest", and an office which was sealed off from the rest of the space. The black box was also attached to the school's dance studio. The doors to the girls' and boys' locker room lead to the dance studio and the black box. Besides those two classrooms, the only things left on the first floor was one of the two cafeterias and one of five computer labs. Maureen lucked out because it just so happened that Collins taught his classes in that computer lab.

Maureen passed a group of sophomore girls, who were gathered at the base of the staircase. They wore to much lip gloss and kept eyeing two senior boys (who Maureen knew were on the football team), but, the boys were checking out three varsity cheerleaders who were gathered around someone's locker, giggling over a picture. She rolled her eyes. It seemed like, no matter when you went to high school, everything was the same. As she walked towards the theatre's black double doors, she heard a crash come from Collins' classroom. Walking as quickly as she could without spilling her cold but sweet coffee, Maureen appeared in the computer lab's doorway in time to see Collins picking up a box of mouse pads.

Maureen scanned the room to see if any students had arrived. It was empty. She smirked, "Wow, it takes skill to knock over mouse pads." Collins looked up from his predicament and shot Maureen a mock glare.

"Shut up, drama queen. Shouldn't you be faking your own death in order to be with you true love?" She giggled, walking over to where Collins stood organizing the mouse pads on his desk.

"Isn't it sad that the only play you know is "Romeo&Juliet"?"

"Not my fault. Plays never really spoke to me."

"That's because, instead of expanding your creative horizon, you decided to spend to your time in doors, staring at a glowing box," Collins shook his head. Maureen then noticed that he was wearing a black skull cap with a white spider on it, "Cute hat. Where did you get it?"

"A guy from my Life Support group gave it to me as a gift," he shrugged. Maureen nodded, silently. Life Support was a group that helped those who were HIV positive or have AIDS. Collins and Roger went to a meeting every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at six-fifteen. Collins had contracted HIV when he had sex with his last boyfriend. Apparently, the guy was scared that Collins wouldn't sleep with him if he knew, so, he didn't tell him at all. It had turned into full blown AIDS four years ago. Roger and his late girlfriend, April Stewart, use to do drugs when they were teenagers, they had met when they were buying heroin from the same dealer. They had fallen deeply in love and were only devoted to one another, so, Roger didn't think that it was a big deal if they used the same needle to shoot up. But, April had been sharing needles with strangers before she met Roger and that's how she got the disease. So, she had infected Roger. April had felt so guilty that she had infected Roger without him knowing that she had slit her wrists in the bath tub and had written her dying message on the bathroom mirror in purple lipstick. It had said, "**ROGER, WE HAVE AIDS**." Roger had been a mess after that. He went into a deep depression for two years, closing himself off from everyone he loved. After that, Roger agreed to attend a rehab so he could get clean. Thanks to the rehab, Roger was able to finish school and get his teaching license. Almost three years later, he had made amazing progress. Of course, Collins and Roger had told the school about their conditions when the applied for their jobs. The school saw no reason not hire them as long as they took the proper procautions to protect themselves and their students.

"Someone might have a crush on you," she teased.

"Shut up," he said, smiling, "By the way, where were you yesterday?"

Maureen hopped onto his desk and took a sip of her coffee. "Why? Did we have something planned?" Collins shook his head.

"No, Mark was looking for you. He called me last night, wondering where you were."

Maureen rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, are you serious? Rehearsal ran late last night. I literally went home and crashed. I was lucky enough to be able to shower and get myself here early enough to finish my lesson plan for today. I didn't know I had to report to him, too."

"Easy, tiger. I didn't say all of that. I just meant he seemed worried about you."

"He's always worried. Thats the problem. He's so suffocating. Mark thinks that, if I don't call him every night at the same time, that I'm cheating or I don't love him enough to want to talk to him. And you can laugh but you know it's true. I'm so sick of it."

"Then why not break it off?"

"I'm sorry, have you met my mother? She'll freak if I even consider doing that. Two days ago, when I had called her, she had said that if I married Mark, we could have a traditional Jewish wedding. How crazy is that? We're not even a year yet and my mom's picking out churches. I'm bonded to Mark for life."

Collins kissed her forehead gently,"It's okay, Mo. Just take a deep breath and relax. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

"God, I hope so," students started filing into the room, shooting questioning looks at Collins and Maureen who were sitting very close to each other on his desk, "Guess it's time for class. Meet you for lunch?"

"Of course," Collins gave her a bright smile. Maureen gave one last wave and walked down the hall to the theatre. She pulled open one of the doors and strolled in, the smell of perfume, cologne, coffee, and cigarettes hitting her immediately. She took a look around and smiled at what she saw. It seemed like every grade had secured their own place in the black box. The seniors took the stage, the juniors took the boys' locker room, since not a lot of boys took dance and it was always empty, the sophomores took some chairs and made a circle in the middle of the room, and the freshman took Mt. Everest.

Maureen took another sip of her coffee before setting down her mug on the small wooden card table near her office door. She clapped her hands together, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "Alright, everyone, I don't run a daycare. I have a class to teach, so, you don't have to go to class, but, you can't stay here."

A senior named Carrie Summers groaned, "Please, Maureen, can I stay? I have free and it's so BORING in the cafeteria in the morning." Maureen only allowed seniors to call her by her first name if they chose to do so. She figured they were practically adults already, so, why didn't they make themselves equal by being on first name basis? Everyone else called her Miss Johnson or Miss J.

She smiled, "Sorry, hun, but I'm teaching freshman right now. Come back third period and you can hang out. Alright, everyone who's not in my class please exit to the left," there was collective groans all around the room as students collected their things and headed out the side door of the theatre.

"Hey, Salem!" Salem Walker, a junior, walked over to Maureen, keeping his head down, "I know for a fact that your Math teacher wants to see you today so you can make up a test."

"H...how did you know that?" He stuttered.

Maureen smiled, "I know everything. Now, go and take your quiz."

"Yes, Miss J," Salem nodded at her and made his way out of the black box. Before the door could close behind him, a man in a UPS uniform walked in, carrying a crystal vase full of yellow and red flowers. Maureen looked at him, confused.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Maureen Johnson?" The man asked. She nodded, "These are for you." He handed her the flowers, tipped his hat, and left. Maureen found a note in the middle of the bouquet. Ripping open the envelope, Mauren's green eyes scanned quickly over it. It read:

_Maureen, _

_I hope you're okay. You didn't call me last night, so, I got worried. Let me know when you get this, okay?_

_Love, Mark_

Maureen rolled her eyes. Of course the flowers were from Mark. She carried the vase and her cup of coffee to where the freshman were sitting on Mt. Everest. They all gave her a weird look. Cassie James spoke up.

"Um, Miss Johnson, are we going to use the flowers in today's lesson?"

Nicole Washington rolled her eyes, "No, stupid. Those are from her boyfriend." Maureen glanced from the flowers to her students, then a slow smile creeped on to her lips.

"Actually, Nicole, these are for our lesson. Everyone grab a flower and stand on the stage," the kids looked at each other then moved to take a flower.

Maureen sighed inwardly, 'It's going to be a long day.'


	2. Wake and Bake,the Breakfast of Champions

**Wake and Bake, the Breakfast of Champions**

Joanne Jefferson was woken up by the sound of a garbage truck rolling by her apartment building. Her chocolate brown eyes were bloodshot and filled with sleep. She looked around her small, shabby bedroom. Clothes were strewn across the floor in messy piles, her dresser was filled with make up and hair products, old rock 'n' roll posters hung on the wall from the previous owner, and her windows were covered by a black sheet she found in a thrift store. She sat up on her futon, rubbing her eyes. She reached over to her night stand, pulling a cigarette out of the pack, and lighting it. She took a few puffs before getting out of bed and walking out of her bedroom to the kitchen.

Joanne and her best friend, Mimi Marquez, lived in an industrial size loft on the corner of Avenue D. They lived on the sixteenth floor, one floor beneath the very top. Joanne and Mimi managed to keep up with the rent by working at the Cat Scratch Club, a local popular strip club. Mimi worked as an S&M dancer and Joanne actually stripped, but, never took off her panties since alcohol was served and they were required to keep them. But, Joanne always gave such a good performance that she didn't need to take them off. Before Joanne befriended Mimi she had been homeless, turning tricks just to have enough money to eat. But, one night, a john was roughing her up in the alley since she refused to give him a blow job for free when Mimi came and kicked him repeatedly in the crotch with her spiked heel. After that, they were friends for life. Mimi had her boss hire Joanne and, now that she was making money, she could help Mimi pay the rent on her apartment. But, there was a bad side to working at the Cat Scratch. Drug dealers were some of the biggest clients, so, every kind of drug known to man was flowing freely. At first, Joanne didn't use anything. But, Mimi convinced her to use cocaine and weed. And, suddenly, she was hooked. She would give free lap dances and sometimes more just to score some coke and weed.

She wasn't always like this, if you could believe that. At one point, Joanne was the prim and proper daughter of Samuel and Ana Jefferson. She attended private school, took part in school plays and student council, volunteered at retirement homes, the works. But, when she hit her junior year of high school, her mother walked in on her and her best friend, Bridget Adams, in a heated make out session. Ana was furious, but, Joanne thought it was a good time to come clean, so, she admitted she was a lesbian. Bridget was sent home and the next day, Joanne had recieved word that Bridget's parents' were sending her to boarding school due to "family issues." Joanne cried harder than ever before. The same night she heard the love of her life/best friend was leaving, Samuel and Ana had told Joanne that she had a choice to make. Either she retracts what she admitted earlier or leave the house for good. Joanne refused to deny who she was, so, her parents kicked her out. She hasn't seen them in six years.

When she reached the kitchen, she saw Mimi sitting on the counter, eating Fruit Loops out of the box and reading the Village Voice. Joanne took one last drag of her cigarette before dropping it in a half empty can of Coke that sat forgotten on the counter. Mimi wrinkled her nose. "Ash flavored Coke. Yum."

Joanne smiled, shaking her head. "Shut up," she opened the refrigerator. There was a carton of milk, a half eaten apple, two strawberry yogurts, beer, Coke, and a container of sweet and sour chicken they shared last night for dinner. She grabbed one of the yogurts and checked the expiration date. Seeing that it was safe to eat, Joanne grabbed a plastic spoon of the draw and began to eat. "How did you sleep last night? Did you get sick a lot? Did you take your AZT?"

Mimi rolled her eyes, "I slept fine. I didn't get sick, thank God, and yes mom I took my AZT." AZT is a medicine that was created to slow down the spread of HIV. Mimi was born HIV positive rather have contacted it during her life. Her mother, Sonya, got the disease from Mimi's father, yet she did not take the proper medicine during her pregnancy to prevent Mimi from getting it. Though usually the two women did not have a lot of money on a daily basis, Joanne always made sure that Mimi got and took her medicine when she needed to.

Joanne lightly nudged Mimi's leg. "Hey, I'm just trying to keep you as healthy as possible. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know. Thank you, Joey," Mimi kissed her cheek, hoping down from the counter, and putting the box of cereal back in the cabinet, "Are you still coming with me to hang out with Angel?" Angel Dumott Schunard was a young gay drag queen/street percussionist the girls met one night on their way back from work. Angel was standing up to a skin head who had been bothering him when he was trying to drum on the street corner. They were going to walk past them, but, they stopped when they heard Angel say, "I'm more of a man than you'll ever be and more of a woman than you'll ever be with." The girls had burst out laughing, going to Angel's side and taking her away from the man. Angel had thanked them for their helped and even bought them a late dinner at the Life Cafe, a popular bohemian restaurant. They got along so well; Angel was sweet, insightful, and gave great fashion and make up tips.

"Where are you guys going?"

"Angel found this great shop in SoHo; they practically give stuff away. We're going to find her a new dress and some tops for me. You in?" Joanne thought about it for a minute.

"Hmmm, watching you guys try on clothes while I try not to die of boredom? No thanks."

Mimi rolled her eyes, lightly punching her shoulder, "Fine, stay here and be boring. You're still coming to dinner at Life, right?"

"Duh, where else would I go?" Mimi smiled and started going to her room so she could get ready, "Don't spend all your money on the same top in different colors!" Mimi turned around and flipped her of. Joanne shot her an air kiss. As soon as Mimi's door closed, Joanne went to the top of the refrigerator and brought down the bread box. While most people used it to keep their bread fresh, Joanne used it as one of her stash spots. She pulled out a freshly rolled joint and put the box back. She went to the living room window, where the the fire escape was, opened it and climbed onto it. Joanne pulled her yellow Zippo light from her bra and lit the joint, inhaling deeply, loving the feeling of the smoke filling her lungs.

'Ahh,' she thought, 'much better.'


	3. Surprise?

**Surprise?**

Maureen was sweeping up the last bit of flower petals when the final bell rang, signaling the end of school and the beginning of show choir rehearsal. She loved show choir; the kids were amazing and their voices and dance moves were even better. Before her, they hadn't won one national championship, but, since she started coaching them, they've won the last five titles in a row. They even renamed themselves once under her rule. The group went from Mega Mike to the Singing Stars.

She dumped the small pail full of flowers into the garbage. Today had been better than she expected. During her first period class, she had the kids make up scenes in which they used the flowers as props. She figured it was the best way to start teaching them about the right way to handle props on stage. But, what she didn't figure was that most of their scenes would involve them hitting one another with the flowers or using them as confetti. After her first class, word had spread about the classes being able to use flowers as props. Maureen didn't have anymore flowers, so, she called the local flower shop and got enough flowers to get her through all seven of her classes. Collins and Roger had laughed their asses off when Maureen showed up to lunch covered in flower petals. She asked where Mark was, afraid that he would see like that and know she had her kids unknowingly destroy his flowers, but, Roger had told her that Mark had to finish editing a film that was going to be shown on Friday at Milton's annual chairty ball so he wasn't going to be there. Maureen was relieved.

Maureen looked around the black box once more before grabbing her purse. The school's drama club, The Dramatics, had meetings in the theatre and she didn't want them complaining to her tomorrow morning about the floors being dirty. She left the door unlocked and headed up the staircase to the auditorium. Other than the black box and Roger's office up in the band room(she liked it because it smelled like mint chocolate and it was the best place to hide from Mark during the day), Maureen loved the auditorium more than any other room in the school. Milton had just remodeled it since people had been complaining about poor leg room, a drooping ceiling, and a small stage. Now, there were rows of plush red leather, reclining seats, a dome ceiling, and a stage almost as big as Broadway's. But, her favorite part of the auditorium was the conductor's box in the middle of the room. It was designed so she could see her kids and it had outside speakers, so, if she needed to correct something, she could just talk to them through the intercom. Other than that, Maureen was alone in the box and she liked being alone during rehearsals. She couldn't focus on her kids when someone was talking in her ear. That's why she banned Roger, Collins, and Mark from the auditorium during rehearsals.

When she walked through the auditorium's side door, she saw some of the Simonne Wright, Gwen Luis, and Nelly Somer were sitting on the edge of the stage, examining the outfit of the only gay boy in the group, Cameron Sanchez. He was wearing what looked like a woman's striped caridgan and a silk scarf arpund his neck. Maureen smiled; this why she loved show choir. They didn't act like a bunch of strangers who chose to sing together; they were a family who didn't judge one another and did crazy things together. This was definitely one of those times.

"It's offical; silk and cotton don't mix," Simonne wrinkled her perfect nose.

Nelly rolled her eyes, "They so do! You just have no imagination," Gwen nodded.

"I agree. Cammie, you look fabulous darling!"

Cam stopped mid walk, spinning on his heel to face them. He gave them a wicked grin. "I always look fabulous, honey. What took you so long to notice?" That made Maureen giggle. The four show choir memebers saw her staring in the doorway and ran over to her. They caught her in a group hug that made her smile bigger. This was another reason why she loved her group; they looked to her as a mother figure and always came to her for advice or when they just needed someone to hold them when they cried.

"We were waiting for you, Mama J," Cam said, taking her hand and leading her towards the conductor's box, "We have to get started right away!" The girls nodded eagerly beside her, pushing her gently.

Maureen looked at them, "Where's the fire? I thought we could relax and do some vocal exercises before the rest of the group comes." They all looked at each other then at Simonne, who gently shook her head at them.

"The group is backstage, Miss J. We're just excited, that's all. So, please go to your box and leave the rest to us," Gwen gently pushed her and the foursome ran backstage. Maureen knew she should've questioned their motives, but, she figured that they just made up a routine that they probably wanted her to add to the set list for sectionals. She opened the door, dropping her stuff in the corner, and made herself comfortable on her black velvet chair on wheels. She hit the intercom button.

"Okay guys, show me what you got. After this, we'll continue working on the "Good Girls Go Bad" dance number. Hit it!" The opening notes of Katy Perry's hit single "Teenage Dream" floated through the speakers. Gwen, Simonne, Nelly, Mandy Lewis, and Paula Adams came center stage. The girls fell on either side of Simonne gently swaying to the music. Simonne moved upstage and started singing.

_You think I'm pretty without any make-up on_

_You think I'm funny when I tell the punch line wrong_

_I know you get me so I'll let my walls come down, down_

_Before you met me I was a wreck_

_But things were kinda heavy_

_You brought me to life_

_Now every February you'll be my valentine, valentine_

As the girls started singing the chorus and danced gracefully around the stage, the projector screen came down from the ceiling and a picture of a heart with the words "MC&MJ=4EVER" printed inside of it. Maureen turned around to see Sean Lewis, Mandy's younger brother, working the projector, her brow ceased in confusion. Suddenly, she heard a voice that made her stop breathing for a moment.

"Hey, baby," It couldn't be, she had specifically banned Mark, Roger, and Collins. Why the hell would Mark be there? She turned back to the stage and her eyes widened. The screen now held Mark's pale face, which was smiling down at her. The girls were standing on either side of his face, still singing.

"Listen, I wanted to do this in person, but, I'm only guna propose once, so, I have to make it special. Maureen, I love you with all my heart, I don't know what I'd do without you. Would please do me the honor of being my wife?" The camara shifted to a small black box that contained a beautiful diamond ring with small emeralds surrounding it. Suddenly the music stopped and she could feel everyone's eyes on her.

"I...umm...I," Maureen stuttered before fainting.


End file.
